Our urgent response services are currently on hold. If you need assistance with supplies, please try White Bird Clinic, Catholic Community Services of Lane County, Inc., or SVdP's Eugene Service Station. Please check back for updates.
Thank you Oregon Country Fair Community!
Carry It Forward is thankful to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund and the Oregon Country Fair community for supporting our efforts in 2019-2020. These funds helped us develop our own facility, allowing us to expand our services and broaden our impact.
During the winter of 2019-2020, the Jill Heiman funds we received were used to create a working facility for sorting, laundering, and storing donations of clothing and camping gear out of a derelict county-owned building.
The funds also helped provide the necessary supplies, staff training, and employment of 10 unhoused people who delivered supplies and fuel to 920 unhoused people on the street through last winter. Thank you to all who contributed to this fund, it truly saved lives.
Tom S. Campbell, 5/21/59 – 12/12/19
Tom was there for the beginning of Carry It Forward, and shaped the way we do outreach and advocacy services in the field. Tom’s experiences also highlight many of the ways people fall through the cracks of our medical, legal, and social service systems.
Tom was a complex guy. On the surface he was quick with a smile, story or good dirty joke. He shared his resources freely. A former White Bird medic, he took pride in serving the community by sweeping the street, volunteering, and caring for other vulnerable people. Tom was the kind of guy you wanted in the zombie apocalypse because he could turn broken electronics into useful working machines like a phone charger or a small generator that could power a flashlight. Always the handy man, he wore his tools on strings around his neck so he wouldn’t lose them in his pants pockets that were held up with suspenders.
Tom told me once that he “had no legacy.” I am here to say that Tom’s life and death inform everything we do. There are still many “Tom’s” on the street facing the same barriers. And although everyone’s story is unique, the outcomes are the same if we don’t do something different.
Thank you community for supporting the work we do.
It takes a village to raise a village. We can't do it without you.
Carry it Forward Hacks for A Cause
Giant shout-out to all the folks involved in Hack For A Cause. What an incredible event!!! We are grateful for all the time and energy ya'll donated to great causes this weekend!
Two teams competed on our project and the judging was incredibly close. The SEHS Robotics Team "SERT 2521" ROCKED the functionality while the "SlackerHackers" team from Trifoia rocked overall aesthetic and larger vision. Honestly we wanted both. In the end we picked SlackerHackers but requested that they work with the SEHS team to complete the project. We sure hope they join forces for a super talented team!
First Paid Employees Hired!
Announcing our first paid employees! John and Karl and I officially launched our grant-funded laundry project this week! These guys are providing laundry services to the 3 CSS camps and NHS’s camp. They did a great job this week and everyone is really happy about the service so far. Proud to have these guys aboard.